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Thunder out of Poro Point
(Philippine Daily Inquirer Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)NEXT MONTH'S OPENING OF the Thunderbird casino-resort in Poro Point, La Union has suffered a new hitch, this time coming from the newly installed Catholic bishop of the province.
According to the grapevine, Bishop Artemio Rillera, SVD, has protested straight to President Macapagal-Arroyo, and GMA reportedly ordered the indefinite deferment of the opening of the San Fernando casino in view of another crucial bishops' conference next month.
Thunderbird had originally scheduled a pre-Christmas opening of a 1,000-square-meter casino within a 4.8-hectare property that used to house the Voice of America relay tower, part of its vision to make the Philippines a "platform to the entire Asian market."
Thunderbird Philippine chair Roberto de Ocampo, the former Ramos finance secretary now president of the Asian Institute of Management, could not be reached for comment on the latest setback.
The Poro Point casino-hotel project is a joint venture with the New Victor Co., a Philippine company said to be controlled by local politicians.
The Toronto-and Frankfurt-listed Thunderbird Resorts Inc. opened its first casino-hotel in the country in Binangonan, Rizal within the military-owned Eastridge golf resort only in April.
Despite what the company said was a "dismal start" where first full-quarter revenue reached $1.7 million as against a full quarter loss of $1.4 million, the Binangonan venture continued to show consistent revenue increases in line with company expectations that it would take "a year or more of developing" the market.
Money-go-round
TO THOSE who may be thinking of acquiring a weekend home in Tagaytay, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. is auctioning 42 pieces of property in Canyon Woods Resort on Jan. 12.
Lot sizes range from 247 to 1,000 square meters, with prices ranging from P8,100/sqm for a vacant lot to P15,752/sqm for a lot with a Swiss-style cottage.
The planned Lexus dealership in The Fort will be wholly owned and operated by Toyota Motors Philippines, and dealer Arturo Macapagal, contrary to what was reported in this column Wednesday, will instead operate the Toyota dealership annexed to the Lexus showroom.
The ideally situated Pancake House branch in the old Greenbelt will be relocated to the mall's Paseo de Roxas frontage with the construction of an elevated pedestrian walkway that will connect the new Greenbelt 5 with the Greenbelt 1 carpark.
Heard through the grapevine
THE SPRAWLING South Forbes home of the late Producers Bank owner Henry Co is up for sale for P220 million. The 3,438-square-meter lot with a 1,043-sqm house at the corner of Banaba and Tamarind roads has been acquired by Banco de Oro, apparently when BDO bought the bank.
(Email: cocktales_pdi@pldtdsl.net or cocktales_pdi@yahoo.com)
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